Tag: sweater knit

I think this little project started because I was still working on the hand basting for my coat and wanted to make something easy that I could enjoy finishing.

Is procrasti-make a word?

I had the floral knit in my stash and a tested pattern ready to go.* Finally all of that pattern prep (and shopping) was going to pay dividends!

At the same time, my January 2019 issue of Threads Magazine arrived. I devoured the article Luscious Sweater Knits by knitwear designer Olgalyn Jolly.**

Under “Flat Hems” on page 37, she writes:

If hemming, don’t sew a knit with poor recovery directly to itself; the hem tends to flare out. Instead, apply a fine stretch mesh or lingerie elastic along the hem allowance to ensure good recovery at the hem.

What a great idea at the perfect time! I quickly added her technique to my plan.

** Threads gives online access to their issues through paid subscriptions, so unfortunately, I can’t provide a link.

Swedish pattern paper pieces on the sweater knit

The pattern is the Hallå Slim Dolman pattern for women. I chose the tunic length, long sleeve option with hems instead of bands. I had to iron my pattern pieces from last time, but other than that, I just had to take them out of the envelope. In this case, there was no need to even pin the pattern to fabric. The swedish tracing paper clung to the sweater knit, which behaved well while cutting.

Delighted with how well everything was going, I never noticed that I forgot to cut a collar band. By the time I got to it, I didn’t have any material left. We’ll get back to that issue in a minute.

I noticed right away that I would need to keep handling to a minimum, as the edges raveled very easily. Time to put my sweater-knit tricks new and old into practice!

Trick 1: Stabilize shoulder seams

This is a good idea with most knits, but especially where the fabric may not be strong enough to support the weight of the garment. The last time I used (2-way) fusible knit interfacing, I gathered up the scraps and cut them into strips. I fused them in place on all four shoulder edges.

Fusible knit strips ready to go

Strip fused in place

Trick 2: Stretchy stabilized hems

Using the Threads article as a general guide, I put together some really stable and flat hems. I didn’t have lingerie elastic or lightweight mesh on hand, so I cut strips from a piece of power mesh. If you are not familiar with power mesh, you would recognize it as the mesh often used in ready-to-wear bras and shapewear. The only color I had was a hot pink, but since there was pink in the sweater, I figured any show-through would look intentional. I made a little slide show detailing how the hems came together.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Trick 3: Baste with Wonder Tape

Remember how I forgot to cut a neckband? When I figured out what I did, I looked around for some fabric that would work as a stand-in, but nothing grabbed me. Then I tried it on without the band. The neck opening is very wide, but I kind of liked it. I figured that if I added bra-strap carriers, it would be pretty easy to wear.

I applied wash-away wonder tape to the edge of the neckband for two reasons. First, it served to stabilize the fragile curve and prevent raveling. Second, I could use it as a guide to turn a precise 1/4 in. hem.

At this point, I could have stitched the neck in place and called it a day. I just thought the top needed a little something extra. Why not use embroidery to highlight it? At the same time, the hand stitching would secure the hem in place.

Using some plain embroidery floss I had on hand, I stitched a simple cross stitch pattern around the entire neck. It’s now a very secure hem, but gives the neck a unique embellishment. My work is not quite as precise as I would like, but that is more than made up for by how happy I am with the color and pattern.

Embroidery up close

Inside view showing stabilized shoulder seam and bra strap carriers

Even with all of the embroidery and extra steps, this was a quick project. I would definitely do another one – just maybe with a neckband next time.

I had just finished cutting out a cute new top (coming soon) out of a lightweight floral sweater knit. When I was done, I still had a wide length of fabric. It wasn’t enough to use for any garments though.

Regular readers will know that I like to find ways of using every little bit of leftover fabric. Because my scrap was basically a wide rectangle, it was perfect for a scarf.

I smoothed out the piece on my large cutting mat, aligning the grain as best as I could. Like many stretch fabrics, it was somewhat pulled out of shape near the selvedge. I cut that part away. Then I used the gridlines on my cutting mat and a long ruler to cut the largest rectangle I could, resulting in a 50 x 15 inch piece.

The scarf fully extended

The cutting doesn’t have to be perfect. This project is very forgiving of mistakes.

While still at the cutting table, I folded the rectangle lengthwise, right sides together. This sweater knit stuck to itself very well, so I didn’t bother pinning it. Then I serged the long raw edges together using a 4 thread overlock.

I turned the tube so the right side was facing out, then serged the openings to each other. I had to hand stitch the last little opening, then done!

Instant gratification projects are so fun, don’t you think? Now excuse me while I rummage through all of my sweater scraps.

I soaked up Becky Fulgoni’s article “Single Layer and Reversible.” There were so many great ideas for making garments from double-faced fabrics (or just fabrics with an equally interesting wrong side). I already knew I had the perfect fabric to make the loose casual jacket in Vogue Patterns’ V9275. The jacket (View A) is intended to be lined, but I thought a reversible version would be even better.

The fabric is a sweater knit with a squishy olive green boucle on the right side. I think the wrong side is just as interesting: a smooth black with olive flecks. It’s lighter than it looks, so it would be for outside on crisp days or wearing indoors.

Planning

I did several tests before I started. I needed to find seam, hem and closure treatments that would work with my sweater knit and also look good from both sides. Once I figured out which worked best, I started planning in earnest.

Above: I tested binding and seam techniques using swatches like this.

I have found that sketching projects helps me plan. When I work through details on paper, I find I almost always need to make changes. This time, I had to do double the sketches, because I needed to visualize how it would look from either side. Sure enough, I realized that I had to account for the knit collar and cuffs in my plan.

Above: Puzzling it out

I used most of the pattern pieces for the jacket. But to make it reversible, I omitted the side seam pockets and back shoulder darts.

Slip-stitch cuffs and collar on black side to give them a finished look

Decorative, error-hiding buttons

Two-Sided Pocket

The Threads article described a technique for making a pocket accessible from either side. From one side, it is a patch pocket. From the other, it is a slot seam pocket. I love this idea! Here is my slightly different method:

Make the slot seam. I was using bound raw edges as a design element throughout the garment, so it made sense to use them for the pocket slot as well.

Cut the front pieces along what will be the new seam line. Because I was binding the edges, I did not need to add seam allowances.

Apply binding to slot seam raw edges. To keep the seam from stretching, I set my machine to use the longest straight stitch. I didn’t use a stretch stitch because I wanted the slot seam to be stable. Some machines have an option to reduce presser foot pressure. If you have it, this is why. It really helps with lofty stretch fabrics.

Join the top and bottom of each front piece. I chose to apply strips of grosgrain ribbon to the green side. They will not show, since the slot is only visible from the black side.

Draft a patch pocket piece to have an ample side opening, making sure it is placed where your hands go. Mine covers the entire width of the jacket, ending at the same place as the jacket bottom. Ensure that the pockets completely cover the slot opening.

Cut two patch pockets and two lining pieces. I made my lining from the same quilting cotton I used for my princess seamed top.

Sew the right side of the lining to the green side of the pocket piece for each side. Only the upper edge and pocket opening need to be sewn. Trim, turn, press.

Topstitch pockets to front pieces. Again, only the upper edge and pocket opening need to be sewn.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Two Sided Zipper

This is my first separating zipper, exposed zipper application, and reversible zipper. I think it’s the first time I have tried putting one in a sweater knit. So I am going to forgive myself for putting it in a little too low. I think it looks nice from the green side, where the zipper tape is hidden. The exposed tape on the black side looks… just ok. I would like to find a nice trim to cover it with, but I don’t have anything on hand right now. The main problem is that by putting it in too low, there is a janky looking gap between where the tape ends and the collar.

The only thing I could think of was to sew buttons at the neckline to hide the tape end. I didn’t have anything that I liked, so I made a couple of cover buttons. I think it looks pretty good.

Above: The exposed zipper tape didn’t line up the first time. Then it didn’t quite reach the top of the jacket. I made a couple of cover buttons to conceal the ends.

Non-bias bias

Making the large amount of binding was really simple. Since the material was already stretchy and shapable, there was no need to cut bias strips. All I had to do was cut parallel strips across the grain.

Stability without interfacing

Stability was an unexpected factor in planning for reversibility. The sweater knit was fairly loose and floppy, so it had to have something otherwise I’m sure it would begin to grow with use. Interfacing was out, of course. The seams, pockets, and zippers serve that function.

I was pleased that even though there was some loft to the knit, it could be compressed enough to make flat felled seams. The traditional method results in two parallel lines of straight stitches. I did it that way for the shoulder seams, and quickly realized that keeping the green fluff from escaping the seam was going to be a problem. So I used a zigzag stitch for the final step instead of a straight stitch for the remaining seams. The zigzag pinned everything down, kept it controlled, and was much easier to sew.

The one piece of fabric from my Sincerely Rylee mystery box that I had no idea what to do with was this brushed sweater knit with a giant horizontal design.

Big. Progresso soup can for scale.

While the quality is excellent, I have to admit that this is one I would never have chosen for myself. My initial reaction was just BIG BIG BIG. I could have given it away, but as you know, I love a challenge. Also, it was so fluffy that it was taking up a big space on the shelf. If I used it, I could fill that space with more fabric!

Front View

Like most knits, the material had a wide width: 58 inches after washing. I had almost 3 yards of it, so I had a lot of options. I thought a long time about how I could best use the vivid pattern. There was enough yardage to do almost anything, but I was concerned that the pattern would be overwhelming in anything long – so sweater dresses and dusters were out. So I started looking at my casual top patterns for a good match.

I came up with hallå patterns’ Slim Dolman. Hallå seems to have a loyal following and I’ve seen a few sewists online list the dolman as one of their go-to patterns. Bonus: Hallå gives you a code to download the pattern and tutorial free if you join their facebook group. I liked that the pieces did not have darts or any details that might disrupt the pattern.

I can see why people like Hallå. Their tutorial has a really nice, clear set of instructions that shows how the simple pattern can be modified for different necklines, sleeves, lengths, and even curviness. I chose to make it long-sleeved, regular (instead of tunic) length with a banded bottom.

Same pattern back

Unlike traditional patterns, all of the purely rectangular pieces such as cuffs and bands are just given as dimensions for you to cut. You are also expected to be able to figure out the pattern layout unaided. The most unusual thing is that the pieces only have a 1/4″ seam allowance. If you don’t need to do any fitting, that’s perfect for sewing on a serger. There is absolutely no wasted fabric with this one.

For those reasons, it might not be a good first pattern for a beginner. But otherwise, it’s about as simple as it gets.

When I actually started placing pattern pieces on the fabric, I was surprised to observe that I could only fit one complete repeat of the design on the large front and back pieces. I decided to maneuver the pieces so the large dark stripe would go across the body so the shoulder and hip would be coral. For the bands, sleeves, and cuffs, I played around with different combinations until I found what I liked the best.

Band and cuffs one way

Band and cuffs another way

When I put it all together, it turned out to have a kind of sweatshirt vibe. It’s really perfect to wear with jeans and super warm and cozy. The crazy stripes were starting to grow on me!

Version 1 – Sweatshirt-y

Because I had so much fabric left over, I thought it might be interesting to see how it sewed up in a variation of the dolman pattern. I was really curious about the batwing modification. I don’t have anything with a batwing sleeve in my wardrobe and wondered how it would be to wear. Also, it gave me another opportunity to experiment with those stripes!

There is no pattern piece for batwings. Instead there are directions on how to modify the pattern to achieve it. I simply made a new pattern piece with a shallower underarm curve. Because the slim dolman uses the same piece for front and back, I only had to do it once.

I really like the way stripes look when they are joined at an angle. I was already changing the pattern, so I made one more change and cut right and left pieces (plus 1/4 inch) for both the front and back.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I used the guides on my quilter’s ruler to place the pieces at a 30 degree angle (or 60, depending on how you look at things). To make sure the stripes aligned, I cut the first piece then used it as the pattern piece for the opposite side. When you place the piece wrong side down, it’s easy to see if the pattern lines up.

Sewing the pieces together along what would have been the foldline results in a front and a back that are the same dimensions as the original pattern pieces.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

To minimize adding anything that would disrupt my now beloved pattern, I also changed the neckline from a neckband to bias facing. For the same reason, I hemmed the bottom and sleeves instead of using cuffs.

Version 2 – 1985 and 2018 mash-up

I discovered something neat about 99% of the way through this project. I wan’t really happy with the way my machine hems were coming out. I just couldn’t find a thread color that would blend well enough to not be distracting. Solution: after securing the edges with an overlock or zig-zag, hand finish the hem with lace-weight knitting yarn. I know not everyone has yarn on hand, but my medium-gray wool yarn turned out to be perfect. I only did the sleeve hems this way, but they are absolutely invisible.

So… the stripes don’t line up. I guess I should have measured twice and cut once. I don’t hate it though. I think it worked very well as a proof of concept, and I’ll definitely wear it as a casual top.

It looks like I have another pattern for the keep pile. Which one do you prefer?

Shop My Links

Like shopping at online retailers like Amazon, Etsy and fabric.com? I would love it if you shop through my links. You pay the same price and I get a small comission. Thanks for sharing your love of sewing with me!